Standing Revisited

So this standing desk thing is working very well. I don't stand in front of my computer for hours. It's not comfortable. So I do what I need then go do something else. That something may involve sitting. I'm okay with that. But it's such an improvement over planting myself in front of my computer the moment I walk into the house and staying there for hours. I recommend it to break the computer habit if nothing else.

Stand in the Place Where You Work

Late last night I read Cari's post about two articles that appeared in the New York Times. Wes and I had read them about a week ago and they have been weighing on our minds. I definitely eat far, far too much sugar. Even if you think sugar is harmless in moderation I'm probably off the chart. The second article about how much time we spend sitting and how dangerous that is for us also got us thinking. Wes has started running again. I have tried to just move more generally but let's face it. I'm a knitter. I sit and I knit. A lot. I also am addicted to the internet. I sit at my computer and surf and knit. A lot. So late last night after reading Cari's post I made a move. I cleared off the hutch in our dining room (kind of a big feat) and moved my computer to it. It's just the right height for me. After about ten minutes though I realized that my feet (we don't wear shoes in the house) were going to get really sore from standing on the hardwood floors. I grabbed a few of my foam squares I use for blocking and now, here I am, standing and typing. It's not super comfortable which I hope will encourage me to use the computer less. The best thing is that now that my computer and all my stuff (DVDs, knitting, stitch markers, cables, papers) are off the dining room table we can--gasp!--use the dining room table for eating. Craziness, I know.

It Doesn't Look Like Much

I spent several hours yesterday trying to clean and reorganize my office. I, assisted by a 12 year old trying to earn enough money for an iPod Touch, pulled everything out of the office. Every single thing. We took down the curtains to wash, we wiped all the surfaces and the moldings. The floor was vacuumed and mopped. Then I began to reorganize and regroup. Yarns, books, notions, fabrics and little bits of crap that have spread all over the first floor of the house are slowly being culled and sorted. My son also built a shelving unit that I bought months ago to store more fabric. There is still a lot of stuff around the house but I feel like I at least have space for it all again in my office. I will also, for the first time in a few years, have office space in my office. I will be able to sit at my desk and have empty horizontal surface upon which I can work! But I still have several more hours of sorting, storing and recycling to go and it will have to wait until at least tomorrow night. But it's a really good start.

Mud-Soaked No More

After all that complaining about the mud and filth, we have solved the problem (we hope). We paid some nice men to come and blow 30 cubic yards of cedar chips into our yard. Yes, it smells like a giant (clean) hamster cage but not muddy or dusty.

Before the yard looked like this.



You can see all the bits of cardboard coming up from our massive sheet mulching a few years ago.



Here, Isabella shows how bare and dusty things were while having a staring contest with a rock.

Things were shoddy. George was not impressed.



But now, cedar-y goodness!



We are really hoping this keeps the mud and dust in the yard.

What We're Up Against

Wes and I have recently renewed our commitment to housework. Or at least decided that we could not go on living in such a chaotic, messy, disorganized, dirty house. So housework it is. So far we've been pretty pleased with ourselves. We reclaimed the dining room table and hutch, the kitchen counters are clear and clean, the bathrooms are clean, the drains are clear, the floors are vacuumed (more than once!), the dishes are done, homemade dinners have been served for over a week, bookcases have been decluttered, clothes washed and put away...and on and on.

Yesterday I had the boys join me in their playroom for a serious declutter/organize. When we started the door wouldn't open all the way because of all the junk on the floor. This is what we pulled out.



That's all recycling plus three garbage bags. 106 pound dog provided for scale. She looks embarrassed for us, doesn't she?

Next Time Just Stay Out of the Office

Swatching is just no good for me. Georgie is done. Coraline is done (full post with photos later). It's time to start a new sweater. I pulled out my Sundara Silky Merino and wound a skein. I pulled out my needle case which was a mess. I decided to be good and get it all organized. After putting away all my needles I still couldn't find my US6 Addi Lace needles. Hmmm. I went into the disaster area known as my office. The needles, I decided, must be in here. Once I started pulling stuff out I had to keep going. I pulled out my entire yarn stash. I went through it all, reorganizing, bagging things up to protect from moths, tossing a few things that had not been protected. I pulled out every project bag in the house. I went through them all. When it was all over it was midnight and I had a much more organized office (fabric stash will have to be next) but still no needle for my swatch and no time left to knit.

This morning as I was getting my older son ready for his first day of middle school (!) I walked by a bag full of class supplies from Sock Summit. And in the bag? My size 6 Addi Lace needles! But it doesn't matter now because once I had gathered all my Cascade 220 scraps in one place last night I realized I needed to start a Fish Hat immediately.

Forestry is growing and growing. I've finished the body up to the armholes and started the sleeves, two at a time. I'm racing to get this done because I want to knit all this.



Churchmouse Yarn on Bainbridge is doing a show on the Elizabeth Zimmermann Fair Isle Yoke Cardigan. It's probably my favorite knit ever. I wear mine several times a week and always gets loads of compliments on it. I want to knit this new one in time to go to the show at the end of February. It only took me about a month to knit the first one. I think this one should go even faster. I had this new colorway in mind for a very long time. In fact for so long that when I pulled out my color notes to get my yarn I discovered that most of the colors I had selected were no longer available. I picked new colors on the fly last week at the shop. This is good old Cascade 220. I realize looking at the photo that the two darkest reds in the center are much, much too close and I need to swap one of those suckers out for a darker shade.

My greatest achievement today--and quite possibly for the year--is this.



This is my coffee table. Please notice that there is nothing on it. Not a single thing on it or on the shelf below. Nothing. I believe this is the first time the top of the table has seen the light of day since it got dragged into my living room. Thank goodness it doesn't require oxygen or sunlight to survive or it would have shriveled up months ago. Now do we want to take any bets on soon it will be mounded up with crap again?

Blame Oprah

There is no knitting.
There is dusting.
There is vacuuming.
There is organizing.
There is cleaning.
It's all Oprah's fault that I barely recognize the place.
Even the Christmas tree is gone.